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So, the furry little rodent in Pennsylvania pulled it off. The groundhog better known as Punxsutawney Phil came out of his burrow at Gobbler's Knob and the little bugger did indeed see his shadow. That means a forecast of "six more weeks of winter" folks.
But lest he be called a fraud (ahem, again), Phil was quick to paw out a Twitter message to hush the haters this Groundhog Day. The "terrifying shadow" as he called it may mean six weeks of wintry wet stuff, but he's well aware that the word "more" is a little misleading. After all, we haven't exactly had a winter yet. And that's why we're willing to give the groundhog his props. Here's hoping he got this prediction just right.
I shudder to say this, lest the gods who have kept my heating oil bill low these last few months choose to strike at me, but we NEED winter, people. And not only because my kid will have grown out of those snowpants I just bought by December (grumble, grumble, darn kids).
This wacky weather has done a number on certain sectors of the economy: from my plow guy to the hardware stores that depend on rock salt and shovel sales. And let's not forget that while we're loving those cheaper heating bills, the people who actually work at the energy companies are feeling the crunch. Folks short on cash aren't spending at the malls, ladies and gents.
And then there is that pesky thing called science. No snow means not having to wear a parka that adds 10 pounds, but it also means no snowpack. And what does no snowpack mean come springtime? You guessed it, folks. No water.
Now take a walk back in time to high school science, and what does no water mean? A whole bunch of scary situations for places prone to drought and wildfires. Sigh.
Looks like the groundhog had no choice. We'll just have to take comfort in the fact that Bill Murray won't be forcing us to take this nasty news over ... and over ... and over again. Groundhog Day really does come just once a year.
What's the weather like in your neck of the woods? Real winter or wacky weather?
Image via Eddie~S/Flickr
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